Extended Warranty - opinions?

[Xjeepowner]

I'm considering getting an extended warranty but, I've had a really bad experience when I tried to use my Jeep factory extended warranty.
I ended up having to get a lawyer and finally got them to refund my money.
For those of you that have a warranty through Ford what is you opinion?
Thanks

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[RagnarKon]

Probably an unpopular opinion... but personally I've always felt like having a general purpose emergency fund is better than an extended warranty.

Extended warranties are kind of like gambling. If you end up with a major issue, than obviously the warranty may end up paying for itself. But if you don't, you just pissed away thousands of dollars that could have been spent on something else or invested. Combine that with the fact that most people roll their warranty cost into their auto loan and they are now paying interest on their gambling as well.

If the Bronco is your only vehicle and you need that vehicle in your daily life, then a warranty for major breakdowns can make a lot of sense, because you are treating the warranty more as an insurance policy to ensure you can continue your daily life. In the Ford world, that would be PowertrainCARE. In certain situations it may also make sense to have BaseCARE on the Bronco, because it covers items like the brakes and stabilizer bar disconnect module on Badlands.

But if your Bronco is a second or third vehicle and you don't need it to function every day, then I don't think a warranty is worth it. I also don't think the more premium warranties like ExtraCARE and PremiumCARE are worth. If your audio system dies, sure it can suck, but your Bronco can still achieve the core function of getting from point A to point B. I don't see the point in spending money to warranty something that isn't critical to your daily life.

 

[Black_Stallion13]

Pretty simple… never buy an extended warranty for a vehicle, period. You’ll have the same hassle that you had before if u ever do try to actually use it.

 

[dingle87]

The only reason I bought one, okay 2 reasons....
1) I was at Granger and the price was right ($50 over cost) and
2) one of my 2 private offers more than covered the cost of the extended warranty.

 

[Bullitt]

I went with a 10yr/125k mi Ford PremiumCARE for a few reasons...

- I retired this year and had the funds to purchase with cash
- There are a lot of electronics and high-dollar components on a Bronco
- Repair costs are increasing each year and imagine the cost out of your pocket 6 years from now
- Peace of mind...it's nice knowing that I'm only out $100 per warrantied repair
- Warranty is transferrable and refundable (pro-rated)

 

[broncorik]

I went with one because the Bronco is so new and kinks are not worked out yet...and also because even if a LED headlight goes out a couple of years down the road that costs nearly as much as a warranty. I was able to get it from Flood Ford before CA outlawed getting policies from out of state (shocker) and it was WAY cheaper than my selling dealer was willing to write me one for.

 

[ksdon]

We used Ford points to get a pretty cheap extended warranty.
Electric gas pedal, electric brake pedal, electronic steering etc.....You seldom know up front, but there is a good chance that 5-6 years from now our extended warranty will pay for itself.

 

[DougF]

I bought the Ford PremiumCare 10yr/100k for a couple of reasons (some stated above)…

Granger price of $2000. I got it to cover the lighting and keys also…

paid for it outright (no interest)…

and had a rear axle failure 400 miles into ownership and thought “OMG… what next?!?” At least I know I’m covered.

reading The threads on this forum (don’t get me wrong, I love this forum, but Geez, you’d think everything on this vehicle is vulnerable and wonder what kind of problems am I gonna have?).

Bottom line…it’s what you feel comfortable with.

 

[BCKMRKR]

One other consideration, which really shouldn't be, is that previous posts have mentioned that certain Ford dealers had refused warranty work when customers bought their Bronco from another / out of area dealer.

 

[Headsong]

Very expensive components now, that are assemblies, so they can't be taken apart.
And... No one diagnoses anymore, they just change parts until problem goes away. Only takes one part.

 

[jrollo7]

Probably an unpopular opinion... but personally I've always felt like having a general purpose emergency fund is better than an extended warranty.

Extended warranties are kind of like gambling. If you end up with a major issue, than obviously the warranty may end up paying for itself. But if you don't, you just pissed away thousands of dollars that could have been spent on something else or invested. Combine that with the fact that most people roll their warranty cost into their auto loan and they are now paying interest on their gambling as well.

If the Bronco is your only vehicle and you need that vehicle in your daily life, then a warranty for major breakdowns can make a lot of sense, because you are treating the warranty more as an insurance policy to ensure you can continue your daily life. In the Ford world, that would be PowertrainCARE. In certain situations it may also make sense to have BaseCARE on the Bronco, because it covers items like the brakes and stabilizer bar disconnect module on Badlands.

But if your Bronco is a second or third vehicle and you don't need it to function every day, then I don't think a warranty is worth it. I also don't think the more premium warranties like ExtraCARE and PremiumCARE are worth. If your audio system dies, sure it can suck, but your Bronco can still achieve the core function of getting from point A to point B. I don't see the point in spending money to warranty something that isn't critical to your daily life.

A “general emergency fund” doesn’t come close to what you would need for any basic repair. A $800 warranty cost for 8 years is nothing. One basic repair costs more than that. You would need at least a few thousand in a fund to cover repairs over 5-8 years.
Extended warranty makes sense to me and paid it off interest free in first six months with Ford Rewards Visa card.

 

[SuperFord]

Some of you have no idea how high an automotive repair bill can be these days.

Seemingly minor things can costs thousands of dollars. You are driving a rolling computer with an array of electronics that you most likely can’t work on at home and many independent shops won’t be able to handle either.

Many dealership hourly labor rates are fast approaching $200 PER HOUR and newsflash, like everything else, parts are also expensive!

If you want a warranty, negotiate the best price and buy Ford Protect Premium Care for as long as you plan to own the vehicle.

The naysayers won’t be there to help you pay the bill for an expensive repair when the time comes.

an engine replacement these days can be $10,000. We aren’t in the good old days anymore.

 

[Coralhead]

Where I bought my '23 Base Squatch, they where trying to sell me an extended warranty that was 10% of the cost of the vehicle. No thank you.

 

[Felix808]

Probably an unpopular opinion... but personally I've always felt like having a general purpose emergency fund is better than an extended warranty.

And no one is going to worm out of coverage you paid for with this approach which will be the first thing that happens if you modified your vehicle in any way .

YMMV, but seems you've had some of the same experience with Jeep

 

[dejones64]

No brainer for me. Reading about possible issues here on the forum. Granger offer at $50 over cost. My 7mt goes in soon for the scraping/grinding issue. Just too much that can go wrong on vehicles now days.

Edit: Granger offer of $20 over cost until end of Nov, Black Friday deal! @Zach@Granger, they are the best, glad they are doing well!

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